


About Damn Time

by fenellaevangela



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Getting Together, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 12:30:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11851611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fenellaevangela/pseuds/fenellaevangela
Summary: Sheppard never would have thoughthewould be the one left out of team orgies.





	About Damn Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cassie Morgan (BADFalcon)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BADFalcon/gifts).



“. . . Rodney.”

Rodney’s foot continued tapping a frantic rhythm on the stone floor. “Hmm?” he answered, a faux nonchalance colouring his voice. “Yes, what.”

Sheppard sighed. “I know this isn’t a life or death situation, but I was kinda hoping we could try, I don’t know, figuring a way out of here? Maybe before dinner. They’re making my favourite not-chicken today and I wanted to get back before Teldy’s team eats it all like last time.”

“Then, by all means, go ahead,” Rodney said. His eyes flicked towards Sheppard and away again fast enough to make Sheppard’s head spin in sympathy. “MacGyver us out of here. I’d love to see how you’ll manage with the available supplies.”

Sheppard spread his arms, showing exactly what it was he had to work with: not a single damn thing. At first the locals had just confiscated their weapons and equipment; a pretty standard approach when AR-1 was met with suspicion. When the locals had proceeded to take their shoes, Rodney had complained, but Sheppard hadn’t started getting worried until after their captors had shoved them into the cell where he and Rodney were currently trapped. That was when they’d been told to strip ‘to prevent a dishonest escape’ while negotiations were underway. 

As much as Sheppard trusted Teyla and Ronon to handle the negotiations while he had to sit at the sidelines as collateral, he found he wasn’t interested in trading with people who locked strangers up naked. Call him paranoid, but it seemed like a red flag. He was ready to get out of there, if Rodney would just get with the program.

“What about a little help?” Sheppard asked.

“I don’t know what you want me to do,” Rodney said. “I’m sure Teyla and Ronon are doing fine. They’ll have us out of here in no time.”

“Uh-huh,” said Sheppard, unconvinced. He didn’t believe for one minute that the anxious, distracted Rodney standing in front of him was more interested in the farm goods this planet had to offer than with getting out of their cell. In fact . . . a lightbulb went off in Sheppard’s head. “Rodney, are you _embarrassed_?”

That got Rodney’s attention. His ears flushed red and he turned to glare at Sheppard – the first real eye contact they’d had since their clothes came off. “Oh, shut up,” he snapped. “I might not have a jarhead physique, but I’ll have you know I’m not ashamed of my body. Plenty of people happen to think I’m very attractive, and even if they didn’t - ”

“I don’t have a jarhead physique either, those are marines,” interrupted Sheppard, amused. “And, no judgement or anything, but if you’re not embarrassed then what’s your problem here?”

Rodney sputtered. “My _problem_? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Rolling his eyes, Sheppard crossed his arms. “Right. Something’s distracting you, otherwise we’d have a game plan to get out of here by now.”

Sheppard should have known that all it would take to get Rodney out of his head was to antagonize him - he should have tried it half an hour earlier. Clearly insulted by the suggestion that a little thing like Sheppard seeing him naked would impede his genius, Rodney marched across the room and poked the other man square in the chest. 

“I could break out of here naked and _blindfolded_ if I wanted to - ”

In typical Rodney manner the tirade continued, and in typical Sheppard manner the colonel quickly tuned out once he’d gathered the main point. He was waiting for his turn to speak when, mid-sentence, Rodney’s eyes strayed downwards and Sheppard finally realized what was really going on. That look wasn’t about being uncomfortable with nudity – his own or Sheppard’s. It wasn’t even about being curious about someone else’s body when you weren’t supposed to look. No, the expression in Rodney’s eyes was unmistakeable interest. Sheppard was suddenly very conscious of the fact that they were standing only a few inches apart. His realization must have shown on his face because Rodney stopped abruptly, frowning and crossing his arms defensively.

“What?” he snapped.

Sheppard wasn’t sure how to explain that he knew Rodney was attracted to him without sounding egotistical or embarrassing the other man for real, and at any rate he knew that when they were locked naked in a room together wasn’t the time to bring it up. So he didn’t bother trying.

Instead, he said, “I was just wondering when you were going to put your money where your mouth is, Rodney, because last I checked - ”

Whatever blistering response Rodney was getting ready to launch was pre-empted by the door to their cell opening. Instead of either of the guards who had collected their clothing earlier, or the local leader who had ordered their imprisonment, Teyla and Ronon were the ones who walked in. The tension in the room dissipated. 

“Please say you have pants,” Rodney said, at the same time that Sheppard said, “Tell me the negotiations went well.”

“Yep,” said Ronon, with an annoying lack of specificity. Then he tossed a bundle of clothing across the room, which Sheppard caught easily.

Sheppard pulled on his pants without bothering with the underwear. “The negotiations?”

“We were successful,” Teyla clarified. “The specifics will be decided the next time we meet, but they’ve determined us to be trustworthy.”

Sheppard snorted. He wasn’t so sure the sentiment went both ways, and he was planning to be upfront to Elizabeth about his concerns. Before he could enlighten the rest of the team he was distracted by a hushed conversation between Rodney and Ronon. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, except for the occasional indignant yelp from Rodney.

When he glanced over, Sheppard saw the other men were standing close together – even closer than Rodney and Sheppard had been a few minutes earlier and _much_ closer than Sheppard would have expected, because he also noticed that Ronon still had a grip on Rodney’s clothing, none of which Rodney had started putting back on. As he watched, the two men continued their back and forth until Ronon finally relinquished the clothing with a laugh and Rodney quickly got dressed. What exactly was that?

Anxious as he was to leave the cell, Sheppard let Teyla and Ronon lead the way out so he could speak to Rodney privately before heading back to Atlantis. 

“Is everything okay between you and Ronon?” he asked. Best to get straight to the point.

Rodney looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “What? Why?”

“He wasn’t giving you a hard time when he gave you back your uniform, was he?” asked Sheppard.

To Sheppard’s surprised, Rodney barked out a laugh. “Ha! So you were watching that, hmm?” He looked strangely pleased.

“I take it you two are fine, then,” Sheppard said. 

Rodney smirked. “We’re more than fine, if you know what I mean.”

Sheppard knew exactly what it was Rodney meant – the other man wasn’t exactly being subtle - but his expression must have shown just how hard he found that to believe. He would _know_ if Rodney and Ronon were – what, flirting? _Dating_?

“Oh, don’t be so surprised,” Rodney said, a smug tone to his voice. “I _told_ you people find me attractive.”

The last word apparently said, Rodney turned and left. To catch up with his . . . boyfriend. Because that was happening. This mission was just full of revelations.

* * *

Once Sheppard knew that Rodney and Ronon were a thing – whatever that actually was - he wondered how he hadn’t seen it before. The two of them sat next to each other whenever the team ate together (Ronon slid his dessert onto Rodney’s tray without a single word exchanged between them); Ronon was already in Rodney’s lab when Sheppard arrived to make sure he wasn’t overworking (Ronon had brought a mug of coffee and an energy bar); Rodney was there, tapping at his tablet in a corner, while Ronon and Teyla showed off some new moves to the marines in the gym (Sheppard even noticed him look up a few times); the list seemed endless. Sure, they weren’t making out in public, but the way they looked at each other sometimes . . .

And Sheppard hadn’t even realized that Rodney liked _men_.

It was a serious blow to Sheppard’s confidence as the military leader of Atlantis to realize that the kind of intimacy he was seeing between Ronon and Rodney could develop on his own team without him noticing a damn thing. He tried to comfort himself with the fact that the Atlantis gossip mill didn’t seem to have picked up on it either – but what if they had? He knew better than to assume that a boss knew everything that underlings talked about amongst themselves.

Sheppard found himself guiltily wishing that the peaceful lull Atlantis was experiencing would be disrupted by a crisis just so he could get his mind to stop fixating on his coworkers’ love life. Something minor, of course, but distracting enough that Sheppard could stop wondering why they never said anything, how long it had been happening, who had made the first move. 

It was getting out of hand, and he knew it. Pathetic, really, that he didn’t just _talk to them_ if this was bothering him so much. In fact, he was using the solitude of an evening jog along the outskirts of Atlantis’ populated zones to brainstorm how the hell to start that conversation when life decided to throw him yet another curve ball.

He was in a quiet corner of Atlantis, running along a promenade that looked down on an open space that may once have been a public square but that Sheppard’s people only rarely used for storage. It was empty now – except, Sheppard noticed with a start, it actually wasn’t. Stopping abruptly and backing away from the edge, Sheppard stared down at the movement below. At first he wasn’t sure what he was seeing, because the sight in front of him didn’t make sense.

It was Rodney. And Teyla.

Rodney’s arms were twined around Teyla’s body. There was no space between them. Teyla’s hand – the one Sheppard could see – had a grip on Rodney’s hair so tight Sheppard couldn’t believe the other man wasn’t complaining.

A thought flashed through Sheppard’s mind so quickly he didn’t have time to remind himself self that this was none of his business. _Maybe Rodney wasn’t complaining because that was what he liked._

Sheppard knew he should turn around and leave, quick, before either of them noticed him, but he couldn’t stop staring. What was happening couldn’t be a mistake. Just because Sheppard apparently had the observational skills of a blind newt didn’t mean that Teyla didn’t know about Rodney and Ronon – she had to. But Teyla wouldn’t - _Rodney_ wouldn’t – 

Sheppard had stepped up to the railing without realizing. Before he could back away again, Rodney’s eyes opened and looked directly at him; there was no way he hadn’t seen Sheppard. But, as Sheppard’s heart pounded, Rodney didn’t look away, or panic, or even let go of Teyla. Instead, he whispered into Teyla’s ear. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Sheppard.

Sheppard finally turned and ran back the way he came.

* * *

Sheppard hadn’t been planning on avoiding the rest of AR-1, but that was mostly because there was no practical way to do so. At this point he had no idea how to speak to them – look at them – without blurting out all the questions he had. He was already running through ideas in his head for how to handle their next meeting without embarrassing himself when Teyla called him.

“Teyla, uh - ” started Sheppard, as eloquent as could be expected.

“We should speak in person,” Teyla said. “In fact, Ronon and Rodney would like to speak with you as well.”

There were fewer things Sheppard was interested in doing right at that moment, and he was including a Wraith encounter on that list. “Look, if it’s all the same to you - ”

“It isn’t,” said Teyla. “You’ve been watching from the shadows long enough, John, don’t you think?”

There was no argument against that tone of voice, and soon afterwards Sheppard stood in front of Teyla’s door, trying to psych himself up to announce himself. When he finally did and the door opened he realized that he hadn’t prepared himself enough.

Even in his imagination John hadn’t allowed himself to picture what he saw inside Teyla’s room. Seeing Ronon and Rodney in domestic bliss had been one thing, and seeing Rodney and Teyla embrace had been another; neither, though, had given Sheppard any ideas about being included. But seeing the three of them smiling in each other’s arms on Teyla’s bed was more than his heart could bear, and he realized with intense clarity how much he longed to be there with them. As Teyla and Rodney turned into each other, Ronon slipped out from the tangle of limbs and sat up at the edge of the bed.

“You coming over or what?” he asked, so fucking casual, like they were settling in for just another movie night. 

Before he could convince himself otherwise, Sheppard nodded. He slipped off his shoes and sat down on the bed, but once the reality of his teammates was close enough to touch Sheppard wasn’t sure how to proceed. Ronon knew what to do, though, pulling Sheppard in with confident ease and chuckling at the embarrassing gasp Sheppard made when their mouths finally touched.

After several moments of what Sheppard would classify as unqualified bliss, during which he lost track of how many people were touching him and where, Ronon pulled away just far enough to look Sheppard in the eyes. 

“Was wondering when you’d get your act together,” he said, smirking.

“Well, you could have said something,” Sheppard said, still trying to wrap his head around the reality of Ronon’s breath on his lips, Teyla’s hand on his thigh.

“We thought our intentions were clear,” explained Teyla. “We apologize, of course, but really John.”

Rodney looked up from where he had been kissing a trail down the back of Teyla’s neck. “How someone who looks like you can be so bad at recognizing when someone’s hitting on you is beyond me.”

It would be easy to rise to the bait, but Sheppard was too happy to argue. Instead he caught Teyla’s eye and before Rodney knew it two of his lovers had pinned him to the bed.

“Not fair!” Rodney squealed, as Ronon laughed in the background.

It was going to be a long, happy, busy night.


End file.
